Notebook Pages
by Gengichi Rena
Summary: A series of Oneshots and prompts for Bleach. Mainly IchiHitsu. Rating due to language, violence, and other possible things
1. Protectiveness

Author's notes: I've recently had the sudden urge to write IchiHitsu fics due to the growth of my obsession with the pair, so I asked my sister to help me get started on some, and she gave me a few prompts to work on.

This is a series of oneshots and prompts for IchiHitsu. Some will be friendship, some will be fluff, others will depend on my mood, lol. Each oneshot/pompt will get it's own 'chapter' depending on how long it is. If I end up with a bunch of small ones, then they'll be uploaded onto one 'chapter'.

And here's the first one~

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><p>Protectiveness<p>

He was always the hero. He always protected those he'd cared about. This was a known fact about the young strawberry. They'd seen it before, when Ichigo was trying to save Rukia, having fought with Byakuya, and stubbornly refused to back down, even with his grave injuries. A few even witnessed the boy defy head-captain Yamamoto straight to his face; something that not even Kenpachi had the guts to do. No matter what the trouble, Ichigo always came to the rescue.

Toushiro was no exception. During the incident with Kusaka, Ichigo had continuously followed the captain of squad 10, even though Toushiro kept pushing him away. During that time, Toushiro learned just how stubborn that man could be. While he'd found it rather aggravating that Ichigo wouldn't listen to his requests, in the end he was grateful, because Ichigo's stubbornness had ended up saving him.

Now, the ice-wielder watched as said man collapsed from what seemed to have been a fatal blow, in what, to him, seemed like slow-motion; as if his brain couldn't fully process the image in front of him. Suddenly, the ryoka boy he'd known to be so strong had been broken so easily. He watched with widening eyes as the crimson liquid sprayed from the seconds-fresh wound that had been inflicted to the poor boy. Then, after what seemed to have been an eternity, Ichigo hit the ground.

Something in him snapped.

Within seconds he was in front of the man that had cut down Ichigo, eyes livid and murderous. His spiritual pressure had erupted, and the temperature around where they were dropped dramatically. The other man had just barely had time to block Toushiro's blade, and struggled to stay rooted to the spot he was standing in. His eyes widened when he saw ice crawling up his blade from where Toushiro's blade was clashing with it. In one quick movement, Toushiro twisted his blade and knocked the other man's away. Before the man could even react, the silver-haired boy drove Hyourinmaru into the man's gut, twisting it as it pierced through, before he violently ripped it out.

He honestly couldn't quite keep up with his actions. It was as if his rage had taken the pilot's seat, and refused to let him drive. All he knew was he wanted this man dead. He wouldn't forgive him for harming Ichigo, and he'd put him through hell for it. No one was allowed to harm Ichigo. Not now. Not ever. And if they did, he would gladly allow himself to be overcome by the instincts of a dragon to tear and shred that person till they weren't recognizable.

A blur of moments passed by, and when he could actually catch up with his mind, he was glaring down at the man, who was now bleeding and practically covered in ice, which was frozen to his skin badly, and would probably pull the skin with it if it was torn off. The man glared up at Toushiro, spitting out a wad of blood. He choked and rasped as he spoke, obviously on his last limb.

"Damned Shinigami…! Unforgivable..! How could I have been defeated so easily? I can't die!" Toushiro looked down at the man with cold, loathing eyes, his naturally narrow pupils seeming to have shrunk even more in rage.

"Your fate was sealed the moment you even raised your sword to _my_ Ichigo. No one has the right to lay even a finger on him. No one. I won't allow it." The man slipped away as soon as Toushiro finished his last words, falling into the darkness that is death.

Suddenly, he was startled to hear a coughing coming from the direction Ichigo was in, and he whirled around with wide eyes. The sight he saw struck him with relief. The fiery-haired boy was breathing, and even sitting up. Toushiro rushed over to the other and kneeled down as the strawberry spoke out, clutching at his still bleeding wound

"Ugh… That guy was a bit of a handful." Toushiro's usual annoyed look returned to his face.

This man… He'd been nearly cut in half, and this is what he says? He was acting as if the severe pain he was going through didn't exist, and that the amount of blood he was losing didn't scare him. If that's the way he was going to play it, then fine. Toushiro stood up and kicked the substitute shinigami's side, causing the other to double over,

"If you're fine, then get up, Kurosaki." He then turned and re-sheathed Hyourinmaru, starting to walk away. Ichigo glared at Toushiro, clenching his teeth as he clutched at his side,

"You fucking brat! What the hell was that for?" Toushiro replied with a 'Hmph', making the teen growl. After a moment, Ichigo suddenly noticed the surrounding area. It was littered with chunks of ice and blood, and the man that had so easily struck him down lay dead among the ice. The sky had just now started to clear from the dark clouds brought on by the powers of Hyourinmaru, and the air was freezing. Ichigo took all of this in with wide eyes before turning to Toushiro, who just stood silent with his back to him.

"Toushiro… You…" Toushiro turned and gave him the same blank look he usually did, although he couldn't hide the obvious worry in his eyes.

"Let's get you to 4th district. You're losing too much blood." Ichigo blinked before a smirk grew on his lips,

"Oho. You actually do care about me. The great Toushiro with a heart of ice actually cares about me!" Toushiro growled, a vein twitching as he whirled and smacked Ichigo in the ribs, which didn't help his wound at all,

"Shut up, Kurosaki! And it's Captain Hitsugaya, Damnit! Get it right for once in your miserable life!" Ichigo groaned from the pain caused by Toushiro's hit, but couldn't help but grin. Toushiro sighed, looking to the side. Apparently Ichigo hadn't been concious for what Toushiro had done and what he'd said to the man about Ichigo. In all honesty, he was a little relieved. The carrottop would never let him live if down if he'd heard Toushiro say those things. So he decided not to bring it up. It took him a little effort, but Ichigo stood up, putting a hand on Toushiro's head and ruffling the white hairs on it, making Toushiro sputter a bit

"I get it, I get it. Come on, let's get going." With that, the teen started to head toward the 4th district. Toushiro watched Ichigo for a moment before a faint smile played across his lips.

Ichigo would never change.

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><p>Notice how he said '<em>my <em>Ichigo'? *snickers*


	2. Day Off

Author's notes: Yay for staying up at ungodly hours and being dead tired and getting awesome inspiration! lol. I'm serious. Throughout this entire thing, I had been up late at night and being rather tired while writing it, For some reason I get really inspired when tired xP Also waiting on some IchiHitsu requests while I write my own~ fun xP

As I said before: There are all oneshots. Each oneshot has its own 'chapter'.

Chapter content:

Ichigo Kurosaki/Toushiro Hitsugaya. IchiHitsu

Fluff/realization/denial

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><p>Day Off<p>

Ichigo stared at Toushiro with an annoyed expression from the other side of the captain's desk. Toushiro tried to ignore the other man's look, but could no longer handle it after a few moments. He glared up at the substitute from his paperwork,

"What do you want, Kurosaki?" Ichigo continued to give that annoyed look,

"I find out that today is one of your days off, and you're in here doing _paperwork_? Why the hell are you working on a day off?" Toushiro reached across the desk and grabbed his tea, bringing it up to his lips and speaking into the cup before taking a drink,

"Because if I don't get this done now, it'll be piled up by the time I come back on Monday. Lord knows Rangiku won't do it. Now if you'll excuse me." The teen wouldn't have it. He grabbed the paperwork off Toushiro's desk before he could start on it again,

"Damnit, Toushiro, you always work." Toushiro glared up at Ichigo, setting his tea down to try and take his papers back,

"It's captain Hitsugaya, _not_ Toushiro. Why won't you ever listen?" Ichigo just ignored him, which just proved Toushiro's point and made him even more annoyed. Ichigo just continued on what he was saying, keeping the papers away from the captain.

"You need to take advantage of your days off. Now get off your butt and come do something fun, for a change." Toushiro growled, setting down his tea and reaching for the papers just to have them held out of reach,

"Give them back, Kurosaki." He stood up from his chair and reached across the desk, trying to snatch the papers away. Ichigo stepped back away from the desk, holding the papers away,

"No! You don't need to be doing paperwork on a day off!" Toushiro started to get rather aggravated, his anger starting to rise. He walked briskly around the desk over to Ichigo and made a grab for his work. Ichigo backed up again,

"Ichigo, I'm warning you!" The silver-haired boy ran at Ichigo, trying to get the papers back so he could get back to work, but every time Toushiro even got close, Ichigo made a run for it, causing Toushiro to chase him around the office. Toushiro managed to trap Ichigo in a corner, but just as he was about to snatch away the paperwork, Ichigo held the papers high over his head, pushing Toushiro's head away so he couldn't get the papers,

"No!" Toushiro swiped at Ichigo, trying to grab the papers that were far beyond his reach for his height. Ichigo just held Toushiro at bay as he held the papers toward the ceiling. In retrospect, the two probably looked rather comical. Toushiro was getting nowhere, and after a moment he sighed in exasperation, arms falling to his sides,

"Fine… I'll take the day off from any work. Just give me the papers back." Ichigo couldn't help but grin at this. Finally the chibi-taicho would take a breather for once. He handed the paper back to its rightful owner before jumping when Toushiro flashstepped back to his desk and began working on the paperwork, a small smirk on his face. Ichigo mentally slapped himself in the face. He really should have seen that coming. Because, really? He _was_ dealing with Toushiro, here.

But that wasn't going to stop him now. He was going to get Toushiro out of the office if it killed him.

He went over and plucked the papers out of the silver-haired boy's hands once again. Toushiro turned and glared at Ichigo,

"Kurosaki, I can't keep this up all day-" He was suddenly cut off when the substitute suddenly picked him up and hoisted him onto his shoulder with ease. Toushiro's cheeks tinged a slight pink as he whirled to look at Ichigo, who was now proceeding to exit the office,

"Damn it, Kurosaki, put me down!" It was obvious the red-head was ignoring him as he walked down the hall carrying Toushiro. No matter how Toushiro struggled, amazingly Ichigo kept a good grip on him, and accomplishing making him a spectacle to any passing Shinigami in the halls. After a while, Toushiro just decided it wasn't worth putting up the struggle.

After they got out of the building, Ichigo took off toward the Rukon districts. After arriving, Ichigo set Toushiro back on his feet but kept a firm grasp on the smaller man's shoulder, leading him down the road of the market. Toushiro crossed his arms, eye twitching slightly,

"Is there a reason you're not releasing my shoulder?"

"Yes. You'll end up running away if I do." Toushiro sighed in aggravation. Why was it the substitute was so hell-bent on getting him out of the office anyway? He'd always spend his time in the office. There was too much work to be done to be taking a day off.

There were only very rare times that he actually took work off. He would use the days not taken off and asked Yamamoto to compile them into a few good days off he could spend visiting his grandmother or taking leisure time in the World of the Living.

But, apparently, according to Ichigo, the once-in-a-blue-moon 'vacation' didn't cut it. He said he'd needed more time than that. Actually take a day off and spend it unwinding and having fun.

"Too much work is _not_ good for you, Toushiro. Trust me. You need to take a break every now and then. Actually enjoy a sunset for once or go have fun doing something." Toushiro huffed as they looked in a store window, seeming to be just aimlessly walking around looking at things of no importance. After a while, Ichigo ended up letting go of Toushiro's shoulder when he felt he wouldn't end up running away.

Toushiro didn't understand it. How could looking at pointless objects in store windows that they weren't even going to buy be any more important than actually finishing his work? He had to admit though; he began to enjoy the pointlessness of it. Just randomly looking around at things of no value was… a nice change. He couldn't help the small smile that played across his lips when the substitute got worked up about some kind of hat or book he found, laughing his ass off at the sight of Toushiro in something he was forced to try on.

"Why are you so worked up about this anyway? I see no point in it…" Toushiro stated as he examined some kind of book. The strawberry could see through the denial, though, seeing the smile-though faint- on Toushiro's face. He stayed silent for a moment before speaking up quietly,

"Because, I care about you, Toushiro. I want to see you actually enjoy yourself for once." Toushiro blinked, turning to look at Ichigo and being greeted by a soft, faint smile on the red-head's face. Toushiro stared at him for a few moments before feeling his face grow hot and he whirled around to face away from him, slamming the book back onto the table,

"It's captain Hitsugaya, you moron. Get it right. Why are we doing this, anyway? Come on, let's go." Ichigo blinked before a wide grin spread across his lips and he laughed. Toushiro only ever said that kind of thing when he was too embarrassed to say anything else. He walked up and patted Toushiro's head,

"Okay, okay. Come on, I see a watermelon stand. I'll buy you some."

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><p>Oh, Toushiro. When will you stop denying your feelings, lol.<p> 


	3. Weight Issues

Author's notes: This one's a bit short, but deserves its own 'chapter'~ We all know that Toushiro's freaking short, but I bet not many of you know that he's only about 62 lbs ;P (or maybe you do?) lol, well, both me and my sister made a big deal out of it when I found out, and I'm guessing she was still thinking about it when thinking about prompts for me x3

What I'll never let Toushiro live down is the fact he's the same height and weight as my 8-year-old cousin xDDD No wonder why everyone thinks he's a freakin' elementary student!

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><p>Weight Issues<p>

Everyone knew the young ice wielder was a lightweight. It was seemingly common knowledge in the Seiretei. Ichigo couldn't help but make a fuss over how light the young man was whenever he'd had to carry him, usually making comments that resulted in Toushiro getting annoyed and yelling at him. He had to admit, he enjoyed teasing the ice wielder, with a passion.

But one day, Toushiro got rather beat up by a group of hollows, and paid a visit to the Kurosaki clinic to get treated. He didn't think a few cuts and bruises were worth the trip back to the Seiretei while he was supposed to be stationed in Karakura Town for the next week. Ichigo watched as his father looked over Toushiro, a small smirk playing on his face,

"How in the HELL can a _captain _get jumped by hollows that low a level?"

"Shut it, Kurosaki."

"No, seriously!" Ichigo wasn't going to let him live it down _that_ easily. "I can understand maybe Rukia getting jumped, but _you_? This is just too priceless! What, were you taking a nap when they showed up?" He caught a pillow that was meant to hit him in the face in attempt to shut him up. Ichigo grinned widely at the fuming Toushiro. Isshin stood up after inspecting the cuts and wrapping them up,

"Alright, Toushiro, I'm gonna do a regular check-up, now. Step onto the scale please." Toushiro got up and went over to the scale without complaints. Ichigo couldn't help but follow after, curious to know exactly how much the chibi-taicho weighed. After Toushiro stepped onto the scale and Isshin measured his height and moved the weights to see the shinigami's weight, he wrote down on his chart,

"4'4" and 62 lbs." Ichigo's eye twitched as Toushiro stepped off the scale.

At first, the substitute thought he had just misheard, but after a few seconds, he whirled around and stared at Toushiro,

"62 pounds…." Toushiro blinked and looked up at Ichigo,

"Yeah, what of it?" Ichigo's eye twitched as he continued to stare at the shorter man

"….. _62 pounds…_?" Toushiro raised an eyebrow, as if to ask Ichigo what his point was. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when the redhead grabbed the scruff of his shirt and started to throttle him,

"62 POUNDS? WHAT THE HELL, TOUSHIRO?" Toushiro had trouble speaking as the teen continued to shake him, feeling like his brain was being rattled around in his skull,

"I-Ichigo! What's th-the big deal?" Ichigo suddenly stopped shaking the other, seething.

"What's the big deal? You're fucking skinny! You weigh 62 pounds for god's sake! Why are you so skinny?" Toushiro sweatdropped, eye twitching slightly,

"I-I just am! I've always been a lightweight. I haven't gained a pound since I still lived with granny-" The teen shook him once more,

"That's not an excuse! You need to gain weight! You're too skinny!"

Isshin couldn't help but give an amused smile as he watched the two continue on, Ichigo pushing Toushiro toward the kitchen to have Yuzu 'put some meat on Toushiro's bones'. Toushiro looked at the eldest Kurosaki pleadingly, but Isshin grinned widely, waving a hand,

"You two have fun now!" Toushiro sputtered, crying out as the teen dragged him out of the room. Isshin chuckled to himself. He knew that for someone of Toushiro's height, 62 lbs wasn't _that_ bad, but he was enjoying this little act a little too much to tell Ichigo now. He'd let his son fuss over Toushiro just a little longer.

After all, it wasn't every day Ichigo got so worked up about something… or someone.


	4. Doppleganger

Author's Notes:

Based on Bleach: Episode 326

This one was a little tough to work on, and is rather long compared to my others. I have to say, It was rather interesting writing a fic based on an actual episode. I've done something similar before, but this one was interesting.

I didn't want to go too much into detail on the actual events of the episode for two reasons. 1: For those of you who have seen it, it'll be a bore just reading about what you already know about detail for detail. 2: I didn't want to sit there watching the episode over and over and over to get the perfect details (that episode makes my heart ache and makes me want to cry ;_;)

If you have not seen this episode yet, this contains slight spoilers! if you're one of those that HATES spoilers, don't read! If you don't give a crap, then read on~ :3 lol

A few paragraphs into the story is my reason why the Shinigami hadn't come to visit Ichigo after he lost his powers in the manga. It's most likely NOT the reason why, and the true reason was probably some stupid shit that Yama-baka or the suddenly resurected Central 46 came up with. Seriously. Why are they suddenly alive again? Dude. Aizen killed them all (one thing the bastard did that I was greatful for). Why are they suddenly alive again? Did Mayuri create clones of them or something? Are they like some form of hydra where you cut them and suddenly two more appear? o_o tell meee!

lol, aaaanyways. Enjoy~~

(Oh, by the way. This takes place _during_ relationship :3)

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><p>Doppelganger<p>

Toushiro couldn't help but feel the tension building all around the Seiretei as battles between originals and Reigai sprung up nearly everywhere. He'd hoped that he would be able to get to get through to Kageroza without having to encounter any Reigai. He honestly did not like fighting if he did not have to do it. He'd just have to hope that he wouldn't be noticed as he ran toward the 12th division.

After a moment, he hesitated for a moment when he sensed Ichigo's spiritual pressure appear in the Seiretei. It looked like he'd followed them in only a while after they'd left, and Urahara Kisuke no doubt didn't do much to try and stop him… honestly, there would be no point in trying to stop the man. That stupid dandelion was even more stubborn than Yamamoto, Kenpachi, and Toushiro, himself, combined. And _that_ was saying something.

Toushiro clenched his teeth before running off again toward the 12th division.

Damn it… Why couldn't he have stayed put, just this once? Toushiro'd hoped that Ichigo would have just stayed away, this time; stayed in the world of the living to fight there, and protect Nozomi… Toushiro wished he'd just stayed where it was moderately safer and where he wouldn't have to use his Shinigami powers so often…

After the scare they'd all gotten from when Ichigo had suddenly fallen unconscious after his fight with Aizen, with no sign of waking up, how could anyone blame Toushiro for being worried and upset? All he could do was sit by helplessly while watching the man he loved just lay there, motionless other than the slight rise and fall of his chest. He'd prayed to every damned god out there to keep Ichigo alive, and hoped like hell that he'd wake up soon.

And when he heard the news that Ichigo was losing his Shinigami powers, and could become a normal human again, it felt like his world was ripped out from under him. A secret captain's meeting was held, and Head Captain Yamamoto informed everyone that when Ichigo would be completely stripped of his powers, they were not to see him, even in gigai.

"_This is for his own good. If we were to put ourselves near him again, he would be put in grave danger in his weakened state. With not being able to sense hollows, or any other enemy that might be present, he could be killed. We owe him at least this much after the help we've received from him in the past."_

_For once, Yamamoto's thinking did make a bit of sense, but Toushiro wouldn't take it. He stepped out of the row of captains, fists clenched and teeth bared as he glared at Yamamoto,_

"_So what you're saying is we can't even go _near_ him? I won't accept it! I have to-"_

"_Enough!" Yamamoto slammed the tip of his cane on the ground as the other captains all stared at Toushiro in shock. Never once did he step out of line or speak out against the head captain, no matter how badly he'd wanted to before. _

_Toushiro stood there, trembling with anger, and hurt. Yamamoto opened his eyes to look at Toushiro,_

"_We all know how much you care for the young substitute, Hitsugaya, but there will be NO exceptions. Would you rather risk the boy's life and be the potential cause of his death?" Toushiro stared at Yamamoto before clenching his teeth and swallowing hard, looking away. _

After that incident, Toushiro became more and more paranoid of Ichigo losing his powers. By using them nearly every day now, like he'd had been, and coming to the soul society again and again, the day he'd lose his powers was approaching faster and faster. Toushiro just wished Ichigo would realize this, and stopped using his powers so often…

He was snapped from his thoughts when he saw Hinamori sitting there on the roof, skidding to a stop to stare at her. He felt a slight relief when he saw her, but that quickly faded to confusion and suspicion. He just knew there was something not right. Hinamori should have still been in bed; her injuries were too severe for her to be up again, much less enough to where she was out of her hospital garb and into her uniform again.

And she only proved his suspicions when she grabbed her sword, most likely aiming to kill him. He could see through her façade quickly, catching her wrist before her blade could get too far out of its sheath. Further examination showed that same bracelet the other Reigai wore. There was no way she could beat him, much less kill him. He could easily beat her in a single heartbeat.

But why… Why did she have to use _that_ against him?

"Are you going to try to kill me… _again_?"

… 'Again'… That word continued to echo in his head. He couldn't stop himself from seeing the images of what had happened; the feel of her blood staining his hands, the sight of her nearly lifeless eyes fluttering open and closed, the sound of her wavering breath as she asked him 'why?'…

That day had been tormenting him since it had happened a month earlier. He was still tortured with it, among other things, in his sleep. He honestly found it amazing that he could still go through his days with the little sleep he'd got. And now, this Reigai was making him relive it again; knowing it would be his weakness.

His hand trembled faintly as his grip released the blade, and the Reigai was given her chance. After she'd said that, he just couldn't raise his blade to her, no matter how much blood he was losing. She continued to apologize to him as she went after him, seeming rather apologetic for what she was trying to do, but still continuing on with it.

His mind was in complete chaos. He didn't know what to do; he couldn't let himself be killed, but he just couldn't raise his hand to Hinamori, whether it was a Reigai or not. He wouldn't have liked to admit it, but he was scared. He was afraid of hurting Hinamori again, afraid of what may happen, and afraid he was going to die... And the worst part was, he'd had nowhere to run.

What happened next, though, completely tore him apart. Another Hinamori stood there in front of him, fighting against the Reigai in 'rage' over harming Toushiro as she'd done. But the Reigai seemed to have more strength than her, and she called out to Toushiro to help her, with each Hinamori calling the other an imposter. When the Reigai went in for what seemed like a final blow, Toushiro got in between the both of them, trying to protect who he'd thought was the true Hinamori. But when a blade pierced through his back first, rather than his front, he was completely shocked, and a second blade pierced through his front.

They were both Reigai. Both of them. They told him that Kageroza had come up with that plan in order to get to Toushiro, because they knew that only one of them wouldn't be able to kill him on their own.

In a way, Toushiro was glad. Because they were both Reigai, that meant that he didn't have to get the true Hinamori involved in anything, and that he wouldn't have to hurt her again, at all.

But something still ached inside of him. He was going to be killed then. He knew it. But… he just couldn't accept that. His chest hurt when he'd thought of the idea, and he felt sick; not just because of his many wounds. He was still frightened; still upset… He didn't want to die… No matter how much he tried to accept it…

At that moment, he'd wished he could have gone to where Ichigo was… After the fight with Kusaka, he'd found himself going to Ichigo more and more when he was afraid, hurt, or upset. He'd even had the silly thought of Ichigo suddenly rushing to the rescue to save him, like he so often did. Ichigo would then scold Toushiro for getting himself into the situation and for having him come to his rescue like that. He'd playfully mock the young captain for letting his guard down, and would then proceed to bring him to Unohana to be treated, completely ignoring the situation with Kageroza for the moment.

But he knew something like that wouldn't happen… not this time. Ichigo was too far away; there was no way he would have suddenly been able to get to Toushiro while being preoccupied with Kageroza, who had apparently set a trap for Ichigo. He knew he would die, and braced himself for the feeling. The only thing he regretted was not telling Ichigo he loved him before he'd left for soul society…

When the blow didn't come, however, with Yoruichi having knocked the Reigai away from Toushiro just before they'd got to him, Toushiro was fairly relieved that he was still alive. He looked down at the soul pill form of the Reigai, swallowing thickly. He began to feel a pain in his heart at the thought of Hinamori dying like that… No. He wouldn't let himself think about that. They were only Reigai, nothing more.

He turned, clutching at his wounds as he began to head off, ignoring his injuries and heading toward where he could sense Ichigo. His mind just went on slight autopilot, leading him to the comfort of the teen he'd trusted and loved. Everything that just happened… he knew if he dwelt on it at that moment, he'd break down, and be vulnerable for everyone to see… And he'd found that the only person he could be vulnerable with, and not feel ashamed, was Ichigo… He needed to get to him, and in the back of his mind, he was a little grateful for the fact that Ichigo _did _indeed come here, and that he didn't stay home.

After a while, he found himself beginning to slow down; vision blurring, body trembling as he'd continued to lose blood by the minute, making a small trail behind him. He needed to be healed right away, or else he'd end up dying from blood loss. He swallowed hard, stopping and clutching at his wound, leaning heavily against the walls of one of the buildings. After a moment, his vision blacked out, and he felt himself fall to the ground.

The next thing he knew, he was hearing someone call out to him, and felt himself being shaken slightly. The voice continued to call out to him, and Toushiro knew it wasn't just his imagination. He slowly managed to open his eyes, trying to see if he someone really was there. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes he was greeted with a pair of familiar, worried brown eyes, orange eyebrows furrowed in worry and what seemed like slight anger.

Ichigo sat there, holding Toushiro in his arms as he'd tried to wake him. When he saw Toushiro opening his eyes, a mixture of emotions washed over his face, the one most obvious of them being relief, most likely due to the fact that Toushiro wasn't dead.

"Thank god…! Damnit, Toushiro, I can't leave you alone for a second, can I?" Toushiro could barely manage a slight chuckle, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his blood-stained lips. In a raspy, quiet voice, he managed to answer.

"I suppose not." The substitute clenched his teeth, a small strangled sound emanating from the back of his throat. When Toushiro's thoughts cleared slightly, the pain started to stab back at him again, and he could feel one of Ichigo's hands pressing on his wounds, trying to get the blood to stop flowing.

Toushiro shook his head slightly to try and clear it, and Ichigo tore strips of his shihakusho off, managing to wrap Toushiro's wounds enough to at least slow the bleeding. But that wouldn't hold for long. Toushiro's vital organs had been punctured through when the Reigai stabbed him, and they needed to be healed quickly. But Ichigo couldn't sense Unohana's spiritual pressure anywhere, and the Seiretei was in too much chaos to bring him to the 4th district, where he wouldn't know who was a Reigai and who wasn't. Ichigo wouldn't put Toushiro through the possible danger of being tricked by a Reigai and possibly end up in an even worse state. The teen continuously cursed as he tried to get him to stop bleeding, growling to himself

"Damnit, why couldn't I have learned healing kido from Unohana?" Toushiro sighed a bit but said nothing as Ichigo tied off the makeshift bandages. Ichigo swallowed hard, clenching his teeth,

"Who did this to you?" Toushiro looked down, shaking his head,

"Toushiro, tell me who did this to you!" Toushiro swallowed hard, not meeting Ichigo's eyes,

"… They…. They were… They were Reigai of Momo…" Ichigo's eyes widened and he froze as he stared at the snowy captain. No wonder Toushiro allowed himself to be hurt like this…

The next moment, a side of Toushiro that very few people were able to see emerged.

Ichigo frowned, and when he looked closely, he saw Toushiro was on the verge of tears. Everything had just suddenly come crashing down on Toushiro, and his feelings had caught up to him. Even though she wasn't the true Hinamori, she'd tried to kill him. And every time he tried to defend himself, the look in her eyes reflected hurt and betrayal back at him. She'd made him relive the pain of that day one month ago, and she made him believe he wouldn't be able to see anyone again, even Ichigo. She'd made him believe he was going to die. After a moment, he completely broke down, and what little life he had in him seemed to be stripped away as he sagged against the young strawberry, tears staining the fabric of his slightly torn shihakusho.

"I couldn't do it…! I just couldn't hurt her! I knew she was just a Reigai, but I couldn't bring myself to do it!" Ichigo swallowed thickly before putting a hand on his head and resting his forehead in the soft snow he'd called hair. His heart ached just as much as Toushiro did. He wasn't able to protect him, or help him…. God, why couldn't he have gotten away from Kageroza sooner…?

Toushiro began to apologize over and over into Ichigo's chest, and Ichigo frowned down at him. Why was he apologizing for not being able to harm his sister…?

"Why are you apologizing…? You couldn't think to do harm to her… You-"

Toushiro shook his head, cutting Ichigo off,

"I'd almost allowed myself to be killed. I just sat there and waited for the finishing blow. If Ms. Yoruichi hadn't come and took care of them for me, I would be dead." At first, Ichigo didn't understand why Toushiro was apologizing for this. Yes, Ichigo was relieved that Yoruichi had saved him, and that he wasn't dead, but why…?

"I was afraid I'd never see you again, and that I wouldn't be able to say I love you again…! I'd almost allowed that to happen…! I'd almost allowed myself to leave you…!" Ichigo stared at him with slightly wide eyes.

Toushiro wouldn't forgive himself for nearly dying. He knew if he'd died, Ichigo's heart would be crushed, and yet he didn't even do anything to try and stop it…!

Ichigo sagged slightly as he looked down at Toushiro, and after a moment, he closed his eyes and gently resting his lips on Toushiro's forehead, managing to calm Toushiro down a bit. He sighed and chuckled faintly.

"You don't have to apologize. You're still alive. That's all that matters." Toushiro swallowed thickly, looking up at the teen,

"Ichigo…" Ichigo simply shook his head and Toushiro looked down, resting his head on Ichigo's chest.

'_How is it that every time I break down, you're able to piece me together again…?'_

* * *

><p><em>End.<em>

May possibly make this a two part if I get enough (GOOD) reviews :3


	5. Nothing but Fluff

AN: Fluffy fluffy fluff~

I had so much fun with these~ since I'd made quite a few short little fluffy fics, I decided to compile them all together in one big chapter~ ^_^ My nee-chan helped me on a few of 'em with basic plot or story ideas, so thank heartofmemories as well ^_^

Some of these take place during the blank between the time when Ichigo last sees Rukia, and when he's in his last year and 17.

Enjoy~~

* * *

><p><strong>He Won't Say 'Yes'<strong>

Ever since that day, a few stubborn lieutenant and captain classed Shinigami had disobeyed Head captain Yamamoto's orders not to return to the world of the living, and snuck out of the Seiretei to watch over the ex-Substitute Shinigami. They may not have gone to Urahara for Gigai, but they still watched over him, whether he was aware of their presence or not. They knew that if they'd asked for gigai, someone would have found out and snitched to the head captain, but they to them, as long as they could watch over him and know he was safe, they were fine. Toushiro Hitsugaya was obviously one of those few.

The day that he'd heard the orders from head captain Yamamoto, he'd nearly lost it, and the other captain-classed were surprised by his reaction. He was usually never one to step out of line and talk back to the head captain. But really, they couldn't blame him. While the head captain's orders did have good intentions, it meant possibly never seeing Kurosaki Ichigo again. And considering the captain of 10th division and he had been going out, of course he would be upset. So when he noticed Renji and Rukia going to sneak out one night, he'd decided to bend the rules a bit and go with them.

After more and more people had started to participate in disobeying orders, however, Head Captain Yamamoto was bound to notice. What took everyone by shock though, was that instead of punishing everyone, he actually revoked his previous order… Although there _was_ one condition. They were still not to make any contact with the people in the world of the living.

Once again, Toushiro and the others were rather aggravated, but they took what they could get. Every chance he'd gotten, Toushiro would go to the world of the living and watch over Ichigo. Through Ichigo's depression, anger, fights, happiness, and even during the times when he'd forget to study for tests and would get flustered, Toushiro was always there, along with Rukia and the others. Karin And Isshin of course found out about their secret visitors after a while, but neither seemed to be upset, and in fact welcomed it. They wouldn't say a word to any of them, and just went about their day, but every now and then, they'd give glances in their direction. After Karin had noticed them coming, she seemed to be glad that her brother's friends- _family_- was right by him, even if he didn't know it.

It was now the night after Ichigo's first year as a senior, and Toushiro was grumbling up a storm as he and Rukia stayed at Ichigo's house that night. One of the lower-classman girls had stuffed a letter into Ichigo's locker, revealing it to be a love letter that asked him to reply the next day. Needless to say, Toushiro actually got a little jealous. Ichigo had been staring at it for nearly a whole hour before he'd gone to bed without a single word, and Toushiro wondered if he was actually debating on saying yes or not. After a moment, Rukia let out a giggle,

"I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-taicho, but you are just acting too ridiculous." Toushiro looked at her before huffing and looking away, closing his eyes,

"Well, I am sorry if I'm getting jealous of someone who's confessing their love to, and trying to steal, my boyfriend." Rukia smiled widely before looking at Ichigo. After a long moment, she spoke up again,

"He won't say 'yes', you know." Toushiro blinked and looked at her with a look of confusion, which was returned with a smile.

"Ichigo loves you, Hitsugaya-taicho. Not once since the time he last saw us did he ever even look at another person like he did you, or did he ever mention thinking of getting another girlfriend or boyfriend. He can't return those feelings to that girl."

Toushiro stared at her for a moment before he turned to look at his boyfriend's sleeping form. After a moment, he smiled faintly and nodded.

* * *

><p><strong>Snuggle<strong>

Many people who knew Toushiro personally knew that he wasn't big on physical contact. He wasn't a hugger, hated it when his lieutenant would hang all over him, despised it when you would even go near his hair, and absolutely _loathed_ it when you picked him up. He'd never been too keen on physical contact while he'd been in the 13 Court Guard Squads, as far as most people knew. However, even with some people knowing this, they completely disregarded that fact. Many people thought it was just because they either didn't care, or because they were close to the tiny captain.

No doubt, Ichigo Kurosaki knew this fact. But did he ever really care? No. But, come on! They'd been going steady for over 4 months, now! He had a right to hug and pick his boyfriend up, didn't he? That's what he thought; completely ignoring protests and annoyed glares from Toushiro.

Today was especially no exception. They had been through a rough week, dealing with a lot of fights, and a chase that left them running in circles. Needless to say, they were both fairly stressed, and the sanctuary of Ichigo's house felt like heaven after such a long week. Ichigo's family had gone out to visit a relative, and his house was a lot closer than having to go all the way back to the Seiretei and to the 10th division, so they'd decided to just stop and take a breather. And, the fact that they had the house to themselves, and wouldn't have to worry about having to explain to Yuzu or Karin what happened to them made it a lot better.

They were sore, battered, and bruised, and even though Ichigo was able to dress both of their wounds, and drugged them both up with pain killers, it was still very uncomfortable to move a whole lot. They both resigned to the couch, simply watching a pointless show on the TV together, not really up to doing much else. Toushiro had a strange look on his face, as if he had just been offered some of Orihime's cooking, as he watched the show. He didn't understand most of the shows from the World of the Living, but after a while, he just stopped asking about things and just watched… though he was still confused about them. Ichigo chuckled to himself as he watched Toushiro's expressions, not able to help but laugh.

After a while, though, Ichigo reached over and put his arms around Toushiro, pulling him in close and nuzzling into his hair. Toushiro's eye twitched as he looked up at Ichigo,

"What the hell are you doing, Kurosaki? Get off." Ichigo just pouted, grumbling and holding Toushiro closer, with no hope of escape,

"Oh shut up, Shiro. You like it and you know it. Now just let me hug you." Toushiro looked up at him before snorting and grumbling. But, after a moment, he caved in and snuggled into Ichigo's hold.

"… Baka strawberry…"

* * *

><p><strong>Hold My Hand<strong>

He normally wasn't the clingy type. He usually didn't like being affectionate, especially around other people. And he found it hard to actually convey his feelings to people.

But his lover was surprised when one day he suddenly reached over and just held his hand tightly. He looked away, seeming to be embarrassed by his own actions, and the other turned to him,

"… What's wrong?" He made a slight, stubborn pout as he looked down and away, a faint blush crossing his cheeks. But even so, he still held onto the other's hand as he spoke,

"Just… hold my hand, alright…?" The other blinked before a warm smile spread across his lips, and he gave his hand a squeeze, holding it tightly,

"Of course, Toushiro."

* * *

><p><strong>Mine<strong>

"Just leave it! It will be there tomorrow!"

"No."

"And the next day, and the next day, and the next day—"

"Damn it Kurosaki, if you don't put me down this instant, I will use Hyourinmaru and freeze you between your legs!"

The substitute Shinigami continued to attempt to get the captain of tenth squad to put his paperwork aside again. At the moment, the teen was literally trying to pry the captain from his desk, enough to where he was holding him up in the air. The young captain was trying hard to keep a tight grip on his desk, and he was doing a pretty good job of it, as he wasn't budging.

"Man, Toushiro, why are you so stubborn? You can always do it later! It's not like the worlds are going to self-destruct because you miss a day or two of your paperwork!" As he said this, he continued to try to get said snowflake to let go of the desk. It seems he'd completely disregarded the previous threat.

"Because if I don't get it done now, then it will just pile up and I'll never get it finished! We both know that the woman I call my lieutenant won't do it." At this, Ichigo huffed. It was true. Rangiku loathed paperwork, and would steer clear of it no matter what.

After a moment, Ichigo growled, getting even more annoyed with the snow-haired boy.

"Toushiro, if you don't just leave it, and come to bed, I'm going straight home. I finally get some time to visit the Soul Society and spend some time with you, and all you're doing is paperwork. It's already almost midnight, just come to bed, dammit."

After a moment of thought, Toushiro finally admitted defeat (more like he grumbled like a dragon and slowly released his iron grip), letting the strawberry pull him away from the desk. He was right. It was already late, and even Toushiro himself was feeling fatigue from having been up for so long. After organizing his desk a bit and turning out the light, he allowed Ichigo to pull him back to his own captain's barracks.

Ichigo had no problems getting comfy with Toushiro once they were finally lying down and getting to sleep. He'd pulled the small captain in close as if he were a human-sized teddy bear, ignoring any and all grumbles he'd received from the captain in the process.

It had taken Toushiro a while to fall asleep, even with how tired he'd felt. In the morning however, he'd woken up bright and early, as usual, still held close in the sleeping substitute's arms. Ichigo was dead to the world at the moment, and Toushiro doubted that even an explosion could wake him.

He took this chance to try and wiggle out of Ichigo's grip, having every intention to go back to his paperwork and start back up on it where he left off. However, his plans to get up were stopped short when the muscular arms of his boyfriend wrapped around his waist and pulled him back down again, flush to his chest. Toushiro grumbled a bit,

"Kurosaki, let go. I need to go get back to work." All this earned was a grunt from the still half-asleep Ichigo. Toushiro sighed in exasperation and tried once again to get up. However, once again, he was pulled back down into the teen's arms. What escaped the teen's mouth in the next moment, however, surprised Toushiro a bit;

"Mine."

Toushiro looked back up at Ichigo, who was falling back asleep again, before he chuckled faintly and smiled a bit, shaking his head. He lay back down again and settled into Ichigo's arms. He'd humor Ichigo for just a bit longer… seeing as how Toushiro was _his_.

* * *

><p><strong>I missed you.<strong>

It had been about a week since Toushiro had left for his previous mission. It wasn't very difficult; only getting rid of a few smaller hollows in an area in the World of the Living. However, while it wasn't difficult, he and Rangiku had been ordered to stay there for as long as it took until they _knew_ that there were no more hollows in that area. As of the moment, he was listening as his lieutenant rambled on about what activities she would partake in when they got back to Karakura to rest until they went back to the Soul Society again… needless to say, he'd tuned her out quite a while ago, after the mention of getting some of Orihime's cooking.

After parting ways with Rangiku halfway to Orihime's house, Toushiro made his way to the Kurosaki clinic. He just knew he was in for an earful when he got there; he'd forgotten to tell Ichigo about his mission before he'd left. Surely the young teen would give him a fierce talking to, but he knew he needed to go check in with him sooner or later. And he was sure his boyfriend would prefer sooner rather than later, especially with the fact they'd stopped in Karakura. So on his way, he enjoyed the peace and quiet as long as he could.

When he got to the teen's house, however, he was surprised to find that no one was home. After some thought, he remembered that it was a school day today, so Ichigo was probably picking up his sisters. And if he recalled correctly, Isshin Kurosaki had been talking about how he'd needed to take a business trip for a few days this week. After a moment, Toushiro sighed, a little loudly.

Toushiro jumped slightly when he heard someone speak up behind him,

"And just _where_ have you been?" Toushiro turned to see a not-so-pleased Ichigo.

Here came the earful.

Toushiro blinked when he didn't see Karin or Yuzu

"Where are your sisters?"

"They went to a friend's house for the night. Don't change the subject." Toushiro sighed a bit and shook his head,

"I was on a mission, Kurosaki. I don't understand what your concern is; I go on missions all the time." Ichigo growled a bit and stalked forward a bit to stand a few feet away.

"Yes, but when we started going out, you _never_ went on missions without telling me where you were going and how long you'd be gone. I don't see you for a week because I have to study for my exams, and when I finally get to the Soul Society to see you again, I find out you're gone, and I can't see you for another week!" Toushiro winced faintly at this. He'd forgotten that he and Ichigo hadn't seen each other for a while since he'd been studying. Toushiro himself had even said that they were to take a break from each other so Ichigo could concentrate on his studies…

He sighed and looked down,

"…. Mm.. sorry, Kurosaki."

For a moment, Ichigo was silent, before he pressed forward once again, stopping just in front of Toushiro. For a moment, Toushiro was expecting a whack on the head… His eyes widened slightly when he felt Ichigo pull him into a warm embrace, nuzzling into his snowy locks,

"…I missed you, my snowflake."

* * *

><p><strong>He won't say 'yes'<strong>

It had only been the first day, and Ichigo had already gotten a love letter from a younger classman. He'd stared at it for nearly an hour that night, and for half an hour the next morning, before he had to go to school. In all honesty, it kind of pissed Toushiro off. While he'd thought that he'd be happy if Ichigo would be able to move on, and not dwell in that depressed state he had for so long… but he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. After all, Ichigo was _his_ boyfriend.

Despite his better judgment, Toushiro had decided to take a visit to Karakura High's campus at the end of the school day. He just couldn't keep wondering about what Ichigo would tell the girl who left the note in his locker. He managed to keep out of sight of any of the people who would be able to see him, and kept his spiritual pressure to nearly bar-none. He was honestly surprised that the Quincy didn't notice him that day… or if he did, he mentioned nothing of it.

He soon found the strawberry on the side of the school, nearly after everyone'd left. Across from him was a girl who was apparently in a junior class, so not much younger than Ichigo, himself. Unfortunately, Toushiro had to admit that the girl was rather cute. She seemed a little timid, but he honestly couldn't blame Ichigo if he'd actually thought she was cute. Toushiro sighed a bit and shook his head as the girl spoke up, a little nervously.

"S-So you really did get my letter?" Ichigo shifted his weight onto his other leg, keeping one hand in his pocket and holding the letter up, looking at it.

"Yeah…."

"Well…? Wh-What's your answer?"

Here it came. Toushiro began to turn and start heading back as Ichigo spoke. He honestly didn't think he'd had the heart to hear what he'd thought Ichigo's reply would be.

"… You seem like a really nice girl… But…"

"But?"

Toushiro turned in time to see Ichigo hand the girl back her letter, and she stared at it with wide eyes before looking back up at him

"I'm sorry. I'm going to have to say no."

Toushiro frowned a little in sympathy at the crushed look that appeared on the girls face. That _definitely_ wasn't the answer she'd hoped for. Ichigo looked away and rubbed the back of his head.

"See, I already have someone I'm in a relationship with."

Both Toushiro and the girl looked at him, though with the girl, it was more hurt than anything. She spoke out, a little louder than she had when she first spoke,

"But how? I've never seen you together with anyone like that on campus or anything!"

"That's because they don't live here. They live… pretty far away. I haven't seen them in quite a while…"

The girl seemed to make a face at this, almost bordering on a stubborn pout,

"Then why are you still together with them?"

Toushiro looked at Ichigo as he paused, wondering what this answer would be. After a long moment, Ichigo chuckled a bit and spoke up,

"You know, I couldn't really say. Sometimes they can be the most stubborn, arrogant, cold person I've ever seen. No matter how many times I tell them I'm there for them, they just don't seem to get the picture, and just face their problems by themselves. Even though we'd been going out for quite a while, they basically refused to call me by my first name, and very rarely acted 'lovey'…"

Toushiro seemed to sag at this. Hearing all that come out of Ichigo's mouth like that… who _wouldn't_ think Toushiro was an asshole? Before the girl could speak to this, Ichigo looked up at her, a faint smile on his face,

"But even then, I love them. I always will. It's fun to tease them and see their reaction, and the times when they're not ice-cold, they're one of the kindest people I've met. They may not even really care about me a whole lot after we last saw each other… but I'm never letting them go."

Toushiro watched, stunned as Ichigo turned and began to walk away, his bag on his shoulder. Even after everything he knew he'd put Ichigo through, and after nearly half a year, Ichigo would still say he loved him; enough to never let him go?

After a moment, Toushiro smiled. Rukia was right. Ichigo wouldn't let go of Toushiro _that_ easily. They were talking about the bullheaded teenager who almost always refused to listen to reason and completely disregarded any kinds of orders the Head Captain gave. There wasn't any way he was going to give up on something like this any time soon.

With a last stubborn cry, the girl called out,

"Long distance relationships never work out, you know!"

At that, both Toushiro and Ichigo chuckled.

That night, Ichigo actually seemed to be in a bit of a lighter mood, and Toushiro couldn't help the smile that spread on his face as he leaned against the wall. After a moment, Ichigo laughed a bit, shaking his head,

"God, if Toushiro heard the things I'd said about him, I'd be in for hell." Toushiro snorted a bit and shook his head, a slight smirk on his face,

"Oh, you're really in for some big trouble when we find a way to see each other again, Ichigo. I'm not gonna let you get away so easily for those things you said. Ice cold and arrogant, am I?"


	6. Holidays

AN: These all happen within a year, and follow the major holidays; New Years, Valentine's Day, Halloween, and Christmas. This takes place during their relationship, possibly just within the year after it started

* * *

><p><em><span>Resolution<span>_

Ichigo stared out his window, up at the sky as the bright lights flashed in the sky, lighting up the whole town. Today was officially the start of the New Year, and fireworks were going off in celebration for it.

The rest of Ichigo's family had gone to visit their distant family for the New Year, but Ichigo'd decided to stay home. To him, it was just another day; another day that everyone made too big of a deal out of.

"Are you not going to join in on the celebration, Kurosaki?"

The teal-eyed boy stood at his doorway, hands crossed into the sleeves of his shihakusho. Ichigo looked back at him before shrugging and looking back out the window as the fireworks continued to light up the sky, casting different colored glows on his face in the dark.

"Not really in the mood for it. What about you? I'm sure they must have some sort of party going on back in the Seiretei. How come you're not joining in?"

"I'd much rather be doing my paperwork. But Matsumoto decided that she'd throw a party in our division." The captain grumbled a bit, shaking his head in exasperation, "Have you seen what happens when you get Matsumoto, Hisagi, Kira, _and_ Abarai drunk?"

Ichigo snickered a bit, a smirk spreading on his lips, "I think I can guess."

Toushiro huffed but stayed quiet afterwards. After a long moment of silence, the young captain spoke up,

"Why don't we go for a walk?"

Ichigo blinked, looking back at him for a moment before shrugging,

"Sure…"

Ichigo pulled up his scarf against the cold winter breeze that seemed to blow right through him. The sky continued to light up with different colors, casting a rainbow of glows on him and Toushiro. They walked quietly down the street, passing people having fun on the holiday. Neither spoke up as they walked into a park, walking down the sidewalk and passing the leafless trees and snow.

After a while, they both stopped and sat down on a park bench overlooking the frozen landscape, the fireworks causing the snow to light up and shine beautifully. The park was empty, most people being back home or in town at a bar somewhere.

After a moment, Ichigo finally spoke up,

"So, Shiro, do you have any resolutions?"

Toushiro blinked, turning and looking at Ichigo with a raised eyebrow, Ichigo looking back down at him,

"You know, for New Years."

Toushiro blinked before making a sound at the back of his throat, turning and looking up at the sky.

"… I don't ever really do any kind of resolution. Never really think about that kind of stuff."

Ichigo chuckled a bit and smiled, turning back and looking at the sky,

"That honestly doesn't surprise me."

"Well how about you? What's your New Year's resolution?"

Ichigo blinked and turned, looking at Toushiro. Teal eyes looked right back at him, honestly waiting for the answer. Ichigo turned and looked down at the ground,

"Hmm… I guess I didn't really ever thing about it, either…" He looked up at the sky as the lights danced across it, lighting up the town.

Really. He never did usually think about this kind of thing. Everyone always asked him, but he usually just gave a half-assed answer; the kind of thing that's cliché or stereotypical to hear. Like 'I'll lose 5 pounds by the end of the year', or 'I'm going to be a better person', or even the 'I'm going to get better grades' resolution. The kinds of things that everyone knows you don't really intend to do anything about.

Why was it that whenever Toushiro brought something up, it almost always gained a great amount of significance? He'd never really ever thought about that kind of stuff before; but every time Toushiro brought something up, it seemed to become even more important.

"… I think… my resolution will be just to do nothing."

Toushiro blinked before raising an eyebrow at Ichigo,

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Kurosaki? Resolutions are supposed to be to do meaningful acts in your life."

"But that's just it; Everyone's resolutions are always about changing themselves, because there's something in them that they don't like, or even hate," Ichigo looked up at the sky, watching each firework light up the sky one by one, "But I don't want to change something in me. I like me just the way I am. I don't wanna change who I am. The me that has all of my friends. The me that can protect everyone," Brown eyes turned toward Toushiro as the teen smiled, his face glowing in the light of the fireworks, "And the me that managed to get you to love me," Ichigo grinned, turning and looking up at the sky again, "So my resolution is not to change. To do nothing. That way I can just be me."

Toushiro stared at Ichigo in almost shock. Somehow, out of pure dumb luck, this man seemed to always catch Toushiro off guard in the right way.

Toushiro huffed and turned away, closing his eyes as he chuckled faintly, a small smile spreading on his face,

"Not much of a resolution. You'd have done that even without it."

Ichigo grinned widely, laughing a bit,

"You know it!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Red Hearts<span>_

"You know that I don't really like sweets, Kurosaki." The teen huffed, grumbling a bit as he crossed his arms.

"Yes, I know, but I still want you to come in here and pick something out. You're supposed to get something sweet today."

Toushiro was put out. Ichigo continuously insisted that Toushiro would get some kind of sweet today, and just would not back down.

Today was Valentine's Day. Normally, it was custom to make something with chocolate for someone you liked; friends, family, lovers, etc. However, it was known that Ichigo was not the best of cooks, especially with something that was so delicate and could burn easily. So instead, Ichigo saved up his money and dragged Toushiro off to town to pick out something he liked. No matter how many times Toushiro tried to decline, Ichigo just wouldn't take it.

The inside of the shop they'd gone into was filled with all kinds of candy and sweets- everything from chocolate bars to fruit arrangements. The décor had been done to match the theme of Valentine's Day, with red ribbons strung up everywhere and hearts decorating every corner of the store. Toushiro couldn't help but twitch at the frilliness of everything.

Ichigo walked with him around the store, having him look at the different items in the store. Nothing really caught his eye that he wanted. As he'd told Ichigo before, he just wasn't into really sweet things. He liked milder tastes when it came to sweets.

After a while, they ended up wandering into the fruit section, and nearly right off the bat, Toushiro's eye landed on something.

A 'Strawberry & Watermelon' fruit basket; it had slices of watermelon and strawberries cut into the shape of hearts, full strawberries dipped in chocolate, and a strawberry watermelon drink mix.

Both Ichigo and Toushiro took one look at each other before Ichigo burst out laughing. Of all things to choose, of course Toushiro would pick something like this.

Toushiro growled a bit at Ichigo for laughing before huffing, turning away, a light blush fading into view on his cheeks. The substitute just snickered before grabbing the basket and heading toward the counter, with Toushiro following just a little behind.

Ichigo grinned widely as they sat at home,

"I really shouldn't have expected anything less from you, Shiro."

The white-haired captain growled a bit before shoving a strawberry piece into the substitute's mouth.

"Just shut up and help me eat this, idiot."

* * *

><p><em><span>Hollow's Eve<span>_

"Onii-chan, how does my costume look~? Do I look cute~?" Ichigo turned to look at his younger sister, showing off her angel costume that sported little feather wings and a halo shaped like a heart. She'd been saving it to show him until Halloween night to show off how cute it made her look. Ichigo blinked a few times as he stared at her,

"… Oh, that's right. Today's Halloween, isn't it? You going out with Karin tonight?" Yuzu suddenly got a look of utmost annoyance. Ichigo couldn't understand why Yuzu would always do this. She'd done it with her middle school uniform as well. Ichigo sighed a bit and shook his head as she stomped off. A snort sounded off from beside him,

"She seems upset. She'd been saving it to show you, hadn't she?" Ichigo shrugged a bit as teal orbs lingered on him and waited for his answer,

"Mmph, she always does this. I dunno why she gets so worked up about it. S'not like I haven't seen her in a costume before…" He grumbled a bit, "Though if that skirt were any shorter, it'd show her panties." The white-haired captain sitting next to him snorted and shook his head, a small smirk playing on his lips

"Well, I see that your 'big brother mode' is working perfectly."

* * *

><p><em>Taken for Granted<em>

"Oi, Toushiro!" The young captain growled a bit, vein twitching on his forehead as he whirled around,

"Dammit, Kurosaki, must you insist on always calling me by my given name?" The teen snorted a bit,

"And must you insist on _not_ calling me by my given name? I swear, you've only called me 'Ichigo', like, twice." This only earned him a snort in return. Ichigo huffed a bit before walking over to the young captain's desk.

It was Christmas Eve and almost everyone was out having a good time under the moonlight. Everyone that is, except Toushiro. As usual, he was holed up in his office working on paperwork.

Why did he always insist on doing his paperwork at night?

"Come on, Toushiro, it's Christmas Eve. I've managed to convince my family that I'm staying over at Chad's for a Christmas party, so I can come spend time with you, and I find you working on paperwork- again!"

Toushiro sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head,

"Some things are more important than having fun, Kurosaki." An unexpected silence followed.

"… Are those same things more important than spending time with me?"

This caught Toushiro seriously off guard. He looked up at Ichigo to see a resigned expression on the substitute's face. Ichigo's never said something like that before. He's always either just sat and waited until Toushiro was finished with his work, or-when he was just too impatient- dragged Toushiro off after promising that he'd let Toushiro work on whatever he needed to later.

Ichigo sighed a bit before turning, shaking his head a bit,

"It's like this every time, Toushiro. Every time I try to make time to come to the Soul Society just to see you, you're always working on something, or busy doing a mission… like it's more important than being with me."

This left Toushiro speechless. Ichigo never acted like this before. He always seemed to be somewhat understanding; impatient and annoyed, yes, but still understanding.

"What's gotten into you, Kurosaki? You never seemed to be upset by this before."

"I'm always upset by it, Toushiro! I sort of dealt with it at the beginning, because we were just starting out. I figured you'd get better over time, but every single time you do this… I tried to be understanding; tried to look at it from your point of view, and figured you'd just had a lot of paperwork to do, especially with Rangiku always putting it off… But I still figured at some point you'd start trying to get it done before I came, so we could spend time with each other without having to worry about anything…"

The icy captain stared at the substitute, surprised by this confession. Ichigo searched Toushiro, as if trying to find something in his features. When he couldn't seem to find it he sighed and shook his head, turning and heading to the door,

"I guess I expected too much, though. I'll see you later, Toushiro." Toushiro flinched a little as the door closed. It might as well have slammed shut.

He could feel a pang of guilt jolt through his chest as he stared down at his desk. Ichigo had a really good point… Toushiro'd worked on a schedule, where he would get a specific number of his paperwork finished every day so he'd never be behind… but he'd never tried to work on more of it or put it aside so he could spend time with Ichigo… He'd always taken for granted Ichigo waiting for him to be done… He'd simply taken Ichigo himself for granted. Of course Ichigo wouldn't have said anything… until now.

He stared down at his paperwork for a while before standing up, walking out of his office. He walked out of the building into the courtyard where his subordinates enjoyed themselves under the night sky.

"Captain? You okay?" He didn't answer; simply walking passed them, trying to find Ichigo.

It took a while, but he finally found Ichigo up at the Senkaimon, just standing there, as if debating on whether or not he should go through or not.

"… Kurosaki."

Ichigo seemed to flinch a little when Toushiro spoke up. Toushiro stopped several yards before Ichigo, watching as he turned to look at him, a slight frown on his face,

"… Don't you have paperwork to do?" This stung Toushiro probably a lot more than it should have. He looked down at the ground,

"Kurosaki… I…" He sighed and closed his eyes, "… I want to apologize. I've been taking you for granted… taking for granted that you seemed to be okay with most of the things that I do…"

Ichigo didn't speak for a long time, making Toushiro's shoulders sag faintly,

"… I understand if you're upset with me. I know my apology doesn't excuse my actions… But even so… I apologize."

Ichigo still didn't speak up, and Toushiro was wondering if Ichigo even wanted to hear it,

"… Apology accepted."

Toushiro blinked and looked up at Ichigo with wide eyes. The boy had a soft smile on his face that nearly caught Toushiro off guard. He stared as Ichigo walked toward Toushiro, standing about a yard from him,

"I'm not all that upset with you, Toushiro. Just a little frustrated is all. You don't have to feel bad."

Toushiro stared up at Ichigo with slightly wide eyes. This man… he was almost too forgiving. He sighed a bit before blinking when Ichigo reached into the fold of his shihakusho, pulling out a small box,

"Merry Christmas, Toushiro."

Toushiro snorted and shook his head faintly,

"… It's still Christmas eve, Kurosaki."

"Well still. Take it."

Toushiro hesitated for a moment before nodding and taking the box, not entirely sure he deserved a present or not. When he opened the box, he was greeted with the sight of a braided leather bracelet, a dragon design burned into it. Ichigo took out the bracelet and tied it onto Toushiro's wrist, mumbling about how tiny his wrists were. As he did so, Toushiro blinked and saw that Ichigo had on another bracelet, matching the one Toushiro was wearing. Ichigo grinned and pulled back, holding up his own,

"There. Now we match."

Toushiro stared at the bracelets before smiling faintly and chuckling, closing his eyes.

"… Thank you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo grinned even wider before looking up as a few nearby partiers cried out in a slightly drunken state

"It's Christmas~!"

As they'd said, it was midnight; and now Christmas. Ichigo laughed a bit before turning to Toushiro,

"Come on; let's get back to 10th division." Toushiro nodded a bit before turning with Ichigo and heading back toward his division. On their way back, Ichigo looked up before smirking, stopping Toushiro in the doorway to the division, nudging Toushiro and pointing up. Toushiro rose an eyebrow at Ichigo before looking up as Ichigo motioned to do.

There hung a small branch of mistletoe, dangling just overhead. Toushiro blinked before looking at Ichigo, as if asking if he were serious. The teen just grinned in response before kneeling down, pressing a kiss to the small captain's lips. Without any hesitation, Toushiro kissed him back, causing Ichigo to grin when they pulled away,

"Merry Christmas, Shiro."

"Merry Christmas… Ichigo."


End file.
